Native American Protesters Call Keystone Pipeline a ‘Death Warrant’

Over the weekend, dozens of Native Americans protested in Washington DC against the Keystone Pipeline, calling it a “death warrant” to the environment and their people, RT reported.

In a statement, Native American groups said of the proposed pipeline that would stretch from Canada to the Texas:

“Keystone XL Pipeline is not in the national interest, has the potential to contaminate the nation’s largest freshwater aquifer, and puts the lives of all people who live along its path in serious danger.”

As the Republican-controlled congress reconvened this past Saturday, fears of the bill approving the project making it through both houses and to President Obama are growing. The president has said in the past that the pipeline doesn’t benefit Americans and that he will veto it, which means the measure will then go back to the Republican-controlled Senate to see if it can garner the 67 votes needed to override the veto.

This is not the first time Native American leaders have spoken out against Keystone. In November, President of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe of South Dakota told RT that its construction would be an “act of war against our people.”

After the South Dakota House passed a measure to “fast-track” the project, Scott said:

“The House has now signed our death warrants and the death warrants of our children and grandchildren. The Rosebud Sioux Tribe will not allow this pipeline through our lands. We are outraged at the lack of intergovernmental cooperation. We are a sovereign nation and we are not being treated as such. We will close our reservation borders to Keystone XL. Authorizing Keystone XL is an act of war against our people.

The Keystone Pipeline, aside from not providing the permanent jobs once originally touted by its supporters, could cause endless environmental damage — not just on reservations, but everywhere it stretches.